HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam hopes to further deepen its friendship and multi-dimensional co-operation with Japan, and considers doing so one of its top foreign affairs priorities, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai yesterday told Katayama Satsuki, chairwoman of the Japanese Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defence.

While noting that the two countries lifted their relations to a bilateral strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in March 2014, Hai thanked Japan for its support over the last two decades on many significant projects.

Satsuki said she hoped the Vietnamese Government would help Japanese companies invest and operate in Viet Nam. She also said Japan would always support Viet Nam's implementation of economic co-operation pacts, including infrastructure and energy projects, and would continue to be a ODA provider for Viet Nam. — VNS